MusicRadar Verdict
Mapex has delivered another highly playable, wonderful-sounding snare drum. As its mentor intended, it's a snare suitable for a wide variety of moods and styles and is great value to boot.
Pros
- +
Flexible. Sounds wonderful. Highly playable.
Cons
- -
Heavy!
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
The latest addition to the Black Panther range is this 13"x6" brass-shelled snare. Developed with much input from Living Colour stickman Will Cahoun, its name alludes to Will and Mapex's desire to produce a drum ready to accompany its player on any number of musical journeys.
Build
"The shell is adorned with West African Adinkra symbols representing life transformation"
Built around a 1.2mm thick brass shell with 45° bearing edges, the drum weighs in at a hefty 4.6kg. The shell is brushed and plated with a combination of copper (the light central band) and black nickel, and adorned with West African Adinkra symbols representing life transformation.
Mapex's Sonic Saver hoops and the impressive Black Panther cylinder drive snare release and complementing butt end are fitted. Whilst the hoops and tension rods are darkened with nickel plating, the double-ended tube lugs and snare tensioning components shine out in chrome.
At R&D stage, Mapex tried ageing a shell for three years before dressing it (Will still plays this drum). Mapex has used its manufacturing nous to pre-age the production drums to emulate the look and feel of this first prototype.
Hands On
Brass is to snares what a chopped chilli is to a plate of food - it turns the sensory dials up a few notches. At mid-tension the snare is bright, warm and crunchy with effortless projection. The 13" diameter ensures a razor-sharp response whilst the 6" depth brings with it fullness of note.
Lowering the tuning further brings an even more tangible thickness to the proceedings - here it's wide enough to drive a power ballad, but the zesty edge so characteristic of brass remains in evidence.
Similarly, cranking up the tension rods heightens the pitch without thinning out the note - it's both funk-tight and rock-hard and could slot straight into a point where the two genres meet. Cross sticking taps out a hard and assertive clonk whilst rim-shotting is rewarded with a drenching of sweet metallic overtones.
At the other end of the dynamic scale brushwork is equally well catered for; the natural, open sound perfectly illuminating the most delicate of strokes.
“A pro-quality tool for hard-working musicians who like the guitar to do the heavy lifting”: Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster HSS
“He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks on stage he sings my lyrics, vocal melodies and song titles - is this hypocrisy or self-deception?”: Morrissey hits out at Johnny Marr
“You never know what will happen. You’re on a bus with pythons”: Orianthi on her Orange Oriverb amp, how soloing is like rapping and why confetti cannons are just one of the risks on an Alice Cooper tour
